Turbat International Airport
IATA: TUK – ICAO: OPTU
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority
Location		Turbat
Elevation AMSL		400 ft / 122 m
Coordinates		25°59′11″N 063°01′49″E / 25.98639°N 63.03028°E / 25.98639; 63.03028
Website		CAA Pakistan
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
08/26	1,829	6,000	Asphalt

Turbat International Airport (IATA: TUK, ICAO: OPTU) is located at Turbat, Balochistan, Pakistan. It has the largest land area within the province of Balochistan. It is the second largest airport, after Quetta International Airport. The airport is located 5 km South of the city. The airport caters to the population of Turbat and surrounding areas of Pidarak, Karkiabdar and Kalatak.

History

Due to the geographical location, the airport has been only catering to the regional traffic it receives from its local city, Turbat as well as the surrounding towns and villages. The airport started out in the 1970s, where the CAA of Pakistan constructed a runway and an apron to handle small prop aircraft. A year later, the national flag carrier launched flights to the airport using Fokker F-27 Friendship aircraft. Due to lack of flights, PIA carried out their own handling at the airport and obtained responsibility of handling the airport operations. PIAC offices were inaugurated and allowed the airline to carry out the tasks at the airport. In 1979, the airport underwent a radical make-over that resulted in a re-carpeted runway as well as apron. A lounge for domestic arrival and departures was constructed in 1980. In 1983, a briefing area was constructed to allow family members of passengers seeing off their relatives was constructed as well as an Air traffic Control building. The main road to the airport was re-developed and constructed to meet international standards by 1984. The Pakistan State Oil decided to provide aviation fuel to flights handled at the airport and built their own facility in 1994. The CAA of Pakistan decided to re-develop the airport in 2000, which housed the CAA administration office as well as a new ATC building. A new Arrivals lounge was constructed as well as a CIP premium lounge was inaugurated in 2003. A DVLS room was constructed in 2005. Custom and immigration facilities were upgraded in the same year. In 2008 new office building for airlines and airport operational staff were inaugurated. The local government and the CAA have reported to be upgrading the airport to meet international standards in 2009 with new lounges, control tower and more apron space to handle more flights.

Until very recently Pakistan International Airlines was the only airline operating from the airport however Sharjah based carrier Orbit Aviation has obtained clearance from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority to start twice weekly flights between Sharjah and Turbat via Gwadar. These flights will commence once necessary arrangements are in place to facilitate the operation of international flights. Airblue has also announced that it intends to start flying to Turbat in the near future after it started regular flights to Gwadar. The national carrier also launched operations to the capital of Oman, Muscat in 2008.

Structure

Since the airport mainly caters to meet the need for local travellers and tourist passengers. The airport is regarded ideal to meet the number of flights and operations it has forecasted for the future. However, with air travel on the rise more is being invested at the airport to meet future needs.

• Runway
  • 6,000 ft runway with dimensions 1829 m by 30m

• Apron
  • For passenger and cargo, 91m by 69m area.
  • Combination of flexible and rigid pavements made of Bitumen.
  • Nose-in parking for 2 narrow-bodied aircraft such as ATR/F-27 at a time.

• Lounge
  • One domestic and international lounge each.
  • Snack shops available

• Additional
  • No aircraft maintenance facility at the moment.
  • Fire Category at level CAT-4. Ambulance-01, Medium Fire Crash Tender-01, Water Bowzer-02, RIV-01.
  • A Viewing Verandah for enthusiasts and visitors.

Airlines & Destinations

Events

• PIA Flight 544 carrying thirty passengers on a Fokker F-27 originated at the airport bound for Gwadar. Mid flight the aircraft was taken over by Balochi militants asking more to be done about their province, due to lack of importance by the national Government. The aircraft landed at Hyderabad Airport in Pakistan where Pakistani commandos overtook the aircraft.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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